Bacon-wrapped pineapple bites

Whenever I have visitors over, I wonder what I could serve them that's both simple to make & not the usual Kenyan tea and bread/mandazi snack. I hereby present to you Bacon Wrapped Pineapple Bites that'll definitely leave your guests asking for more.

All you need is bacon, toothpicks, pineapple pieces and cayenne pepper. Can you imagine!

Start by cutting the bacon into slices, enough to wrap a small piece of pineapple.

Mix sugar and cayenne pepper together to coat the bacon-wrapped pineapple.
Take a piece of bacon and wrap it around a pineapple cube.

Pierce a toothpick through the bacon-wrapped pineapple.

 

Generously coat with the sugar -pepper mixture. 

Place it into the oven as per recipe instructions. Keep checking on them while they're in the oven. For instance, ours almost became a burnt offering since we got so engaged in conversation and forgot they were there! Hehe...

Final results?

Sweet.

Juicy.

Tasty.

Amazing.

Delicious.

Somebody stop me. :)

Hehe...Drumrolls......

(Remember I said they got a little burnt. Don't judge hehe....)

Buuuuut, you see? Bacon and Pineapple is gooood! Hawaaian pizza haters...haters gon' hate! We won't let you bring us down!

About judgement, just as I was afraid that you'd judge our almost burnt offering of bacon-pineapple snack...we men and women usually get very defensive when we perceive that someone is casting judgement on us.

'Who are you to judge me? ' we ask.  'Are you God? '

More so, we ask questions like; What about the last judgment? Will our sins be remembered? Will they be revealed?

Anthony Hoekema puts it wisely: “The failures and shortcomings of . . . believers . . . will enter into the picture on the Day of Judgment. But — and this is the important point — the sins and shortcomings of believers will be revealed in the judgement as forgiven sins, whose guilt has been totally covered by the blood of Jesus Christ.”

I'm glad that God has actually given us the details of how it'll go down on judgement day. First things first, all of us will be judged, that's sure.

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." 2 Corinthians 5:10(NIV)

All judgement will be based on the finished work of Jesus, whether you accepted Him or not. For those who believe, they will receive crowns as rewards;

  • crown of righteousness( 2 Timothy 4:8)
  • incorruptible crown ( 1 Corinthians 9:24-25)
  • crown of life (Revelations 2:10)
  • crown of glory (1 Peter 5:2-4) and
  • crown of rejoicing (I Thessalonians 2:19).

This and so much more is found in the Word concerning judgement. I'm trying to compile a devotional about all this (judgement on the last day and judging others). Hoping to launch that and many other devotionals on the w4d tab here on my website soon. Pray for me!

In the meantime, I implore you to search the Word about judgement, rather than remaining ignorant on it.

Here are a few resources you could start with.

https://www.desiringgod.org/labs/how-will-christians-be-judged

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-believers-will-be-judged

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/judge-not

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/judge-not-that-you-may-judge-well

Has this Taste and See episode on pineapples motivated to go make any of the recipes?

Also, have you now figured out why we spoke of judgement and pineapples? CROWNS of judgement? Pineapple CROWN. Yes yes... you see what I did there! ;)

Share any pics on Social Media when you do with the Hashtag #TasteandSee  and tag me! (@muenimuli )

Do subscribe to the blog so that you don't miss out on anything!

Grace and Peace!

by bildadmo

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

If I was told to describe pineapples with one word, it would be : bitter-sweet. You know how they could either be really sour and leave your tongue feeling... eeeghh...or they could be dangerously sweet.

I must confess my love for the core of the pineapple. You know...that hard part in the middle that many people throw away. I mean how do people throw away such goodness! (facepalm)

Anyway, the other day my friend Brenda pulled me into an an ongoing debate with a group of friends, as we walked to class. She asked me if I'm of the school of thought that approves pineapples being put on pizza.

Hmmm...I will refrain from giving my comments on Hawaiian pizza, as I may have done worse (read as putting avocado on pizza... avo is bae!) Hehe... but do stay reading as I may convince you that salty bacon and sweet pineapple absolutely go well together.

For this episode of #TasteandSee, we went all out on pineapples!

Pineapple upside down cake. Sounds like one of those desserts you have at bourgeois places yeah? Well, we are demystifying that myth guys! Here's the recipe  we used. We tweaked it a bit and used sultanas instead of cherries for the colour-pop at the centre of the pineapples. {On that note, help a sister out by writing in the comments section where one can find cherries in Nairobi. I searched all over and couldn't find any!}

         

After lacing the pan with butter and flour, you put the butter and sugar mixture for the caramelized top.

 

And because its a pineapple-UPSIDE DOWN cake, place the pineapples and sultanas next.

 

Here's how it looks after you've placed the sugar, pineapples and sultanas.

This cake is so simple to make and affordable as well (I used less than ksh.1000 to buy the ingredients; next time I'll keep the receipts and share the actual cost). Plus it tasted heavenly!

Cream butter and sugar together, until fluffy.
Add in eggs and milk.
Fold the flour into the wet ingredients.
Pour the cake batter into the tin. on top of the pineapples.

Speaking of heaven, have you ever wondered how judgement day will go about? Judgement seems to be a hot topic in all circles; Christian and non-Christian. "Don't judge me" is a phrase I'm sure most of us have used, or should I say abused. But what really is judgement? Who has the right to judge? Should Christians judge one another?

Here's a little of what the ladies I was cooking with had to say:

"Of course we aren't supposed to judge one another. But Paul in Corinthians mentions that we should judge fellow Christians... sounds so weird...."

"What if I look at someone and already make my first-impression of them by how they look/talk..is that also counted as judging someone?"

"I think God will also punish me for my sins even if I am a believer. I mean, faith includes works, so can He really not punish us for the bad things we do although we're Christians?"

What do you say about this? What is your opinion on judgement? Do keep the conversation going in comments section.

Because I foresee this discussion getting heated, let me give you a baking tip. Ever run out of eggs and you still want to bake a cake? Well, here's an egg alternative that'll save you the trip to the shops just for a few eggs.

   

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp water

1 tsp baking powder

Mix all the ingredients together.

{This replaces 1 egg in recipes, so adjust accordingly as per your recipe.}

The cake is as sweet as it looks guys!

Will you try baking it? If you do, please share pics with the hashtag #TasteAndSee and tag me on Social Media @Bloom @muenimuli

Plus what's your opinion on judgement? Do share in the comments. Though the conversation isn't over yet! Later this week (on Wednesday 17th October), I'll be back with part 2 of this #TasteandSee episode. I'll share another pineapple snack that will contribute to that pineapple-on-pizza debate, plus give what I've learnt so far about judgement. ;)

Lots of thanks to our photographer Njeri for her amazing work. Plus my aunt Nangira and cousin Manu for their support and great company!

Soli deo Gloria.

by bildadmo